Improvement in roofs of churches



UNITED STATES PATEN Erice.

SHEPHERD S. YVOODOOOK, OF SOMERVILLE, AND GEORGE F. MEAOHAM, OFWATERTOVN, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROOFS OF CHURCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 14,83% dated October25, 1864.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that we, SHEPHERD S. WoonoooK, of Somerville, and GEORGE F.MEA- CHAM, of Watertown, both in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Building Churchesand other Similar Edices; and We hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part ot' this speciiication, in which-Figure l is a view of the interior ot a church, the clear story 7 ofwhich is supported according to our improved plan of construction; andFig. 2 is an inside elevation, a part ot' the finishing being removed,showing the framing and our improved method of support ing the clearstory.

In churches and other similar edilices in which a large open area isrequired on the lower floor, and which are constructed with a clearstory, it has been necessary to support the roof by means of a series ofcolumns on each side in the interior of the structure. These columnsadded materially to the cost ot the building, occupied considerablespace, and obstructed the view and light.

The object ot' our invention is to overcome these objections, and itconsists in supporting the roof by means of a truss7 or trussed girderon each side ot' the building, properly supported in the end walls andstayed in place by means of wind-braces77 and ties,7 which bind the rooftogether and prevent it from spreading and giving a lateral thrust tothe truss, the whole weight of the roof being thus made to bearvertically upon it, by which construction we are enabled to dispensewith the columns heretofore used, thus greatly lessening the cost of thebuilding, and leaving an unobstructed area, which adds to the beauty andiinish of the interior.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and apply ourinvention, we will proceed to describe the manner in which we havecarried it out.

ln the said drawings, A represents the side walls ot' a church,constructed in the usual manner. B is a truss or trussed girderextending the Whole length of the building, (there being one on eachside,) and supported at its extremities by the end walls, U. This trussB is ot' equal depth with and forms one ofthe vertical walls ofthe clearstory D. The rafters c of the lower roof or lean-to77 E are secured tothe wallplate F and to the lower girder of the truss B, which is stayedand held irmly in place by means of the windbraces b, also secured tothe plate F and truss B, as seen in Fig. 2. The rafters c of the mainroof G extend from the ridge H to the upper girder of the truss B, whichis steadied and still further stayed by means of the wind-braces d andties e, which bind the roof G together and prevent its giving a lateralthrust to the truss, upon which the whole weight of the roof is thusbrought to bear vertically. The whole is then covered and nished, asseen in Fig. l, the spaces between the braces of the truss -B beingoccupied by the clearstory windows I. The root' is thus supportedwithout the use of columns by the truss B, the depth and great strengthof which precludes any possibility of its settling or sagging in thecenter of its length.

lt will thus be seen that by the above-de` scribed method of supportingthe roof we are enabled to combine the advantages of lightness,strength, and durability with great economy of construction, and theinterior presents an open, unobstructed area.

le do not conne ourselves to the exact details here shown, as it isobvious that these may be'varied without departing from the spirit ofour invention.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,isn

Supporting the roof of a building by means of trusses B, steadied andheld in place by wind-braees b d, in the manner substantially as setforth.

S. S. WOODCOGK. GEO. F. MEAUHAM. Vitnesses:

P. E. TEscHEMAcHEE, N. W. SrEARNs.

